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May 2018 Detroit Rent Report

Welcome to the May 2018 Detroit Rent Report. Detroit rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Detroit rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

May 2018 Detroit Rent Report

Welcome to the May 2018 Detroit Rent Report. Detroit rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Detroit rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

Detroit rents held steady over the past month

Detroit rents have remained flat over the past month, however, they are up marginally by 0.8% year-over-year. Currently, median rents in Detroit stand at $680 for a one-bedroom apartment and $890 for a two-bedroom. Detroit's year-over-year rent growth lags the state and national averages, which both stand at 1.5%.

Rents rising across the Detroit Metro

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Detroit, but across the entire metro. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Detroit metro, 9 of them have seen prices rise. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.

Taylor has the least expensive rents in the Detroit metro, with a two-bedroom median of $880; the city has also seen rents fall by 0.5% over the past year, the biggest drop in the metro.

Warren has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 7.8%. The median two-bedroom there costs $980, while one-bedrooms go for $760.

Troy has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Detroit metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,300; rents were up 1.9% over the past year but remained flat month-over-month.

Detroit rents more affordable than many similar cities nationwide

As rents have increased marginally in Detroit, comparable cities nationwide have seen rents grow more quickly. Detroit is still more affordable than most other large cities across the country.

Rents increased moderately in other cities across the state, with Michigan as a whole logging rent growth of 1.5% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 2.8% in Grand Rapids and 1.9% in Lansing.

Detroit's median two-bedroom rent of $890 is below the national average of $1,170. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.5% over the past year compared to the 0.8% rise in Detroit.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Detroit than most comparable cities. For example, Chicago has a median 2BR rent of $1,260, which is nearly one-and-a-half times the price in Detroit.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

City

Median 1BR price

Median 2BR price

M/M price change

Y/Y price change

Detroit

$680

$890

0.2%

0.8%

Warren

$760

$980

0.5%

7.8%

Sterling Heights

$810

$1,060

0.2%

1.1%

Dearborn

$980

$1,280

-0.2%

2.4%

Livonia

$920

$1,200

0.7%

1.5%

Westland

$740

$960

0.3%

1.5%

Troy

$1,000

$1,300

0.0%

1.9%

Southfield

$890

$1,160

0.3%

1.1%

Taylor

$680

$880

0.1%

-0.5%

Pontiac

$730

$950

-0.0%

1.4%

Royal Oak

$830

$1,080

0.2%

1.5%

Southgate

$780

$1,010

0.2%

3.1%

Oak Park

$970

$1,260

-0.1%

1.1%

Auburn Hills

$930

$1,210

-0.3%

4.1%

Rochester

$990

$1,290

0.0%

1.8%

Howell

$880

$1,150

1.2%

3.9%

Belleville

$830

$1,060

-0.2%

1.9%

Clinton

$730

$880

-0.1%

2.1%

See more

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.